by Viola Grace
Morrer kept his arm around her waist. "We have some housekeeping to do at the temple, so after we have set our house in order, you are welcome to visit anytime. Venya will not be able to leave for several years. Morvigeth's fertility is depending on her cooperation and attention."
Her mother frowned. "How does that work?"
With all of her family watching, she blushed but answered. "When the stars use their emissaries to come together, the energy released flows into the planet around them. This includes plants, people and animals."
Morrer spoke, his tone still rippling along her skin in that unnerving way. "The village outside the spaceport will be one of the first to be affected. If you are still here tonight, you will understand what we are talking about."
Markos frowned. "We will be here until we are sure that Venya is happy. The Reshkins will not leave until we know she is safe and sound."
"I understand."
"We will bring everything from her quarters to the temple this evening. That should give you three hours to set up your quarters." Jorila's ultimatum rang through the air.
Venya smiled and stepped forward to kiss her mother on the cheek. "I will be fine. But give us one day to work on the temple. You can come tomorrow at noon and check out the large, empty building."
Her mother pouted.
"That isn't going to work on me, nor is that mental nudge you just gave me. I received a lot from the star for what I offer to her in return. Come tomorrow and you will be a witness to something special. Tonight, all you will see is me snoring." She bumped her mother's forehead with her own and her elder laughed.
"Fine. We will be there at noon. All of us."
She grinned. "I have been duly warned. See you tomorrow."
Morrer shook Markos's hand and bowed to Jorila. He led Venya out of the shuttle and breathed a sigh of relief when they exited.
"Where are the priests?"
"They ran ahead to prepare the temple. If they are successful, there should be a meal waiting for us."
She slumped a little. "Thank the stars. I am exhausted."
He wrapped an arm around her and supported her. "I am not surprised. You exerted yourself and your talent in an unusual manner."
"You could say that. I just want to sit down and relax." She leaned on him and they headed to the huge temple in the centre of town.
Their pet priests bowed and raced to greet them, "Emissaries. We have your quarters ready and a meal is being prepared."
Morrer nodded. "Bring me the books from the temple. I will look them over this evening."
"Yes, emissary. We also have a selection of clothing for both of you." He paced with them up the stairs to the entry hall.
Venya froze at the sight of the altar with the bloodstains imprinted into the wood. "That will have to go."
Morrer squeezed her waist. "It will."
"I think we should call a village meeting tomorrow. Have them meet here at dusk so Searaline can address them. Put it all on vid and broadcast it across the surface."
"May I ask what she has planned?"
"Burning that damned altar to bring those women some peace. Something best done in public."
Her grim tone wasn't lost on him and he hugged her again. "I think that would be appropriate."
The halls were sparsely populated, but the few priests that they passed flattened themselves to the wall and bowed. Their minds showed nothing but fear and respect tinged with relief.
"How many did Lassing remove?" Her tone was casual, but one of the priests flinched. "Ah. That many."
"The undertakers here are very efficient. They removed the bodies and cleaned the floors in a matter of hours."
The walls were a cool beige stone with little to no decorations. There wasn't a feminine touch anywhere. Venya started to make mental lists with accoutrements she wanted for the meeting rooms and the spaces she wanted for priestess quarters.
"Here are your rooms. Make a list of what you need and we will have it brought to you in a few hours." The priest bowed.
"What is your name?" Venya wanted to know since he was becoming their default major domo."
"Nimcor of Sakkath province, emissary." He bowed again.
"Thank you, Priest Nimcor. Enlightenment must be embraced when it arrives. Congratulations for taking that step."
He swallowed and his dark blue gaze met hers for a moment. "You were very persuasive, emissary. One could not argue with your logic."
"Fear is a wonderful motivator." She patted the man on the shoulder and nodded a dismissal.
Alone with Morrer, she skittered around the room looking into cupboards and drawers, finding the desk and the bathing room off the main bedchamber.
A table was set with a plain but serviceable set of dishes and cutlery. The food had not yet shown up, but that was fine with her. She took a running start and launched herself at the bed. It bounced her up and by the time she stopped moving, Morrer was standing next to the bed.
"Are you done exploring?" He untied his shirt.
Her mouth started to water as she watched his torso come into view. She loved the slope of his shoulders and the planes of his chest.
"I am heading for a bath before dinner. Feel free to join me." He leaned down and kissed her until she was squirming against him. With a smug smile, he lifted from her and peeled his trousers and boots off before he walked completely naked into the bathing room.
She couldn't ignore that invitation. Venya unlaced her boots and peeled her dress over her head, following her mate into the bathing room.
The huge tub was rapidly filling with water and Morrer was sitting with an invitation in his eyes as the water crept up his limbs.
"May I join you?" She bit her lower lip with her teeth and fidgeted.
"Of course." He raised one hand to her and helped her step down into the tub.
A selection of masculine-scented oils and soaps were against one side of the tub, so she selected something with a bright citrus scent and attacked her limbs.
Morrer pried the soap from her hands and pulled her so that she was sitting between his thighs, his erection pressing against her spine. He asked her a question that she knew had been in his mind all day. "So, do you think you could live here?"
She smiled. "Keep scrubbing my back and I will think about it." She relaxed into his hands and let him remove the stresses of her day.
Chapter Ten
Morrer's hands slipped and slid over her flesh, so Venya leaned her head back against him and arched her breasts into his palms. "I am guessing you are enjoying this."
His whisper was a dark noise against her neck. She sighed and moaned while squirming against the hard bar of flesh behind her. "Yes. You have very clever hands."
He swept her hair to one side and placed soft kisses on the nape of her neck. "They have their moments."
He caressed her belly with one hand while the other moved between her thighs to find the liquid heat she was producing. Her soft moan as he slid two fingers into her ended on a squeak as he bit her lightly on the shoulder.
Her arousal level rocketed from two to nine with that light grazing of teeth. She was so surprised by the spike in sensation, she didn't do more than gasp when he turned her around to straddle him.
He wrapped one arm around her while he turned off the water and then positioned her over him, the blunt head of his erection wedged in her opening. "You will have to do the rest, Venya. Take me into you. I want to feel your soft heat holding me tight."
His words were less important than the sensations his tone sent through her. She shivered and slowly took him into her, inch by widening inch. She felt full, her flesh stretched to accommodate him as she closed her eyes to get used to the sensation.
He touched her jaw and caressed her cheek, making her open her eyes. Without a word, he kissed her and spread his hands over her back.
She raised and lowered herself experimentally, the position she was in gave her new sensations from previous couplings. This t
ime, the flared head of his cock scraped along her inner walls and struck something on the forward wall of her channel.
With each rise and fall, her hips bucked when that spot was struck. She was already higher than she had been before, but her body wouldn't go over yet.
A keening whine was coming out of her throat as she plunged faster and faster on Morrer's cock. The release that she sought was getting closer but not fast enough to suit her. She heard herself begging as she moved on him and he took pity on her, stroking her clit with two fingers while he used his teeth again. Her shriek echoed on the tile walls and it was joined by Morrer's snarl a moment after.
His hand clutched at her hips as he arched into her with hard repetition.
She grunted as her body clenched around his cock until she felt the jets deep within. Shuddering and exhausted, she slumped against him.
She breathed in the scent of sweat and soap and rested against his chest. The stars hadn't joined them.
He answered the unspoken question. "They give us moments on our own. We offer them service and they don't wish to make us resent it. Aside from ritual couplings, they will leave us, when they can, to learn and understand each other."
She rested her forehead on his chest and smiled. "That seems like a good thing. Do we get to have lives when we are not being emissaries?"
"We are having a life right now. Savour every moment you can get. We will be very busy for the next year. What do you have in mind for priestesses?"
She yawned and nestled against him. "To cover the two aspects of Searaline, I thought training for the women would combine farming and judgement for small events."
He was stroking her back and the water was making her sleepy until she felt the mind of the priest enter their quarters with food. "Dinner's here."
She slipped free of his cock and swished back into the water, scrubbing her face and hair while a bemused Morrer quickly bathed himself and engaged in a quick rinse. They wrapped in towels and came out to find a priest fluffing the pillows. He jerked in surprise as they entered so Venya immediately scanned him.
There was nothing for them to fear, he was only nervous about serving the new emissaries so that they were satisfied.
"Thank you. Your name?"
"Renald. Thank you, emissary. Any opportunity to serve is welcome."
Morrer nodded his dismissal and turned his attention to the meal. Venya smiled. At every turn, he had taken care of her first and finally she was safe and he was able to take care of himself.
His enjoyment of the smells coming off the table drew her over and when he pulled her to his lap, she pressed a quick kiss to his lips. With an eye to balance, she selected a series of foods and placed them on a plate. "Here you go. Enjoy."
She assembled her own foods and the moment she took her first bite, he dug in with a ravenous growl.
The food disappeared quickly and he held out his plate for a second helping. She reloaded it and finished her own meal, adjusting the towel over her breasts and relaxing against her living chair.
Her life may not be under her control, but the path she was forging was hers alone. The stars might have put her in this place at this time, but she would bring her own touch to the office of emissary.
Chapter Eleven
Venya straightened her formal gown, thankful that her mother had come by with her wardrobe, and stood next to Morrer who was resplendent in his own robes. The villages around the area had all sent representatives and they were all standing in the ritual hall.
The altar with its bloodstains was the silent point of attention in the hall. Morrer's eyes glowed gold and it covered him from head to toe. Venya felt the green of Searaline come forward and surround her and she waited in the back of her own mind for the star to complete the course of action they had agreed on.
* * * *
Lassing spoke. "For years, the priests of Morvigeth have twisted my words. In my zeal to regain my wife, I sent the same words to other planets and Emicar IV was the only one to interpret the words properly. Unfortunately, they did not have a population that generated psychics and so it was one of your own who travelled across the stars to bring Searaline back to me."
Searaline took his hand and smiled at him. "I was lost in the darkness and the release of Oritia reached me as her mind spun to the stars and Lassing propelled her to the far reaches. I was able to find my way back to my love after eons of separation. I am moving closer as I speak and soon, we will burn brightly in the same skies once again."
Lassing scowled. "The altars that were used here on Morvigeth were defiled with blood and pain. I have never asked my people for anything that they would not offer freely. Nor will I ever."
She looked at the torches that she had asked to be lit. "In memory of the women who were brutally murdered here, I burn this altar to bring them peace and let their families know that no other woman will share their fate."
The star called the flames to her hands and held them, arms wide for the crowd to see. One at a time, she threw the flames to the altar and watched as they engulfed the icon of murder in a blue-white blaze.
The crowd surged and several families clung to each other as they remembered the horrors of sacrifices in the past.
"As we mourn those who have passed, we must also look to the future. For Morvigeth to flourish, we need women to take up the position of priestesses. These women should be single, adults and their heat status is not a concern. All ages in adulthood are welcome."
She continued, "These women should have an intense desire to see Morvigeth prosper. The growing season will be expanded in the spring and knowledge of farming, crops and village life will be gratefully received."
A few women looked at each other and whispered in hushed tones.
"Anyone interested will be interviewed by me to determine the best branch of service."
The altar was still crackling merrily behind her.
"No sacrifices will be requested or accepted. Morvigeth has given too much and recovery is of primary importance."
Lassing wrapped his arm around her and stood next to her. "Psychics are welcome in the temple, but we understand if you do not wish to enter it again. Searaline's host has experience training psychics and will be available for any who wish to know more about how their powers work.
"If you fear that the local priests will continue, there is a new penalty for sacrificing a psychic on Morvigeth. As of today, the penalty is public sacrifice at the hands of Searaline. There are priests spreading the word about the gruesomeness of that method of death. Never fear the priests. If they are behaving outside social norms, arrest them and bring them to Searaline and her emissary for judgement. She will know if they lie."
Searaline finished. "Thank you for coming. We are delighted to be walking among you once again and bring any concerns to the temple. You will be heard, or I will know why."
Clapping started as Lassing and Searaline kissed in a passionate connection that culminated as Venya's body shook in orgasm courtesy of Lassing's fingers and a wave of enriching power flowed out of them and through the crowd.
Stepping back into her own skull, Venya smiled up at Morrer as Lassing became a golden gleam in his eyes.
A baby boom had been started and with the next harvest being a promised extravagant year, Venya could only imagine how much sex was starting up around the planet as the wave expanded slowly until it covered every inch of Morvigeth.
Morrer's voice still shook her to her toes. "What are you thinking?"
She grinned and pulled his head down to hers as she gave him tiny kisses from his jaw to his lips. "I think it's a good start."
He swung her up into his arms and carried her back to their rooms.
She giggled. "What are you thinking?"
"That it has been too long since you had a foot rub."
She squeaked and tried to get out of his grip, but he was determined. In less than a minute, she was fighting for her shoes and realizing that her heart was lost.
&
nbsp; It was definitely a good start.
Author's Note
Wrath of the Stars finishes where Sacrifice to the Stars began. Morvigeth is set to rights and the practice of slaughtering psychics has been stopped.
Captive of the Stars will be the next book in which our heroine is taken hostage by a warlord and sent to work in his kitchens until he figures out just who…and what…she is.
Thank you for joining me in the Hashka Chronicles.
Viola Grace
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http://www.violagrace.com
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About the Author
Viola Grace was born in Manitoba, Canada where she still resides today. She really likes it there. She has no pets and can barely keep sea monkeys alive for a reasonable amount of time. Her line of day job tends to be analytical which leaves her mind hopping to weave stories. No co-worker is safe from her character analysis. In keeping with busy hands are happy hands, her hobbies have included cross-stitch, needlepoint, quilting, costuming, cake decorating, baking, cooking, metal work, beading, sculpting, painting, doll making, henna tattoos, chain mail, and a few others that have been forgotten. It is quite often that these hobbies make their way into her tales.
Viola's fetishes include boots and corsetry, and her greatest weakness is her uncontrollable blush. Her writing actively pursues the Happily Ever After that so rarely occurs in nature. It is an admirable thing and something that we should all strive for. To find one that we truly like, as well as love.